Tuesday, January 07, 2014

2014: Change is in the Air

Welp, I knew it was going to be a year of change, I just didn't know it was going to happen so quickly!

As of yesterday morning (Blue Monday), my trajectory for the year changed course and changed it quickly. I've been waiting for a few things to come together, but they were all just loose ideas floating around, with lots of possibilities. But after 10am, my head was spinning for the rest of the day.

It was the first day back to work for most people after the holidays, so I thought I'd maybe hear some news. Sure enough, early in the day I received an instant message from someone telling me they wanted to extend a job offer to me. A few hours later, verbal offer and acceptance on the phone, and I am moving to Salt Lake City!

Never in a million years did I think I'd move to Utah, but I am excited. Though seemingly every aspect of my life is going to change.

I've worked from home for two and a half years, now I'll be in an office.
I've lived in warm and sunshine for 6 years, now I'll be in mountain cold.
I wear comfy clothes to work every day, now I'm not sure how to put my work wardrobe back together.
I wear shoes that don't require socks, now I don't know what to wear other than boots.
I've been in a wonderful ward where I feel I can contribute each week at church, now I'll probably attend a congregation with 600 people, and I dread feeling lost and meaningless.
I wait out traffic and run errands at odd hours, now I'll have to drive every day.
I can go run and walk outside every day to get exercise, and now I'll probably have to join a gym for winter months.
I'll get to be a hands on aunt to baby Hallie (yay).

I had applied for this job out of the blue back in November, still with the same company where I work now. I hadn't previously considered the SLC office, as I don't know anyone there, nor what any of those business units do. I saw a job that looked half interesting, but I was hesitant, since it's way different from what I do now. I emailed the hiring director and had a quick phone call to understand more about the job before I decided if I wanted to apply. I asked him to name three things he wanted in the candidate he hired, and honestly, I scored a 0.5 out of 3 on that. Regardless, it sounded like a great and interesting position, so I applied anyway.

About 6 weeks went by and I heard nothing, so I assumed they weren't going to call me. No big deal, I'd found a couple other interesting roles to pursue. Though out of nowhere in mid December, they asked me to do an interview. I had a short phone call with a few people, and I thought it went okay. A week later, I got a note that they want to take me to the next round of interviews, though with holidays fast approaching, it might not be til January. I headed home for Christmas, but managed to squeeze in another phone interview with a higher-up. We had a great conversation, so I started to wonder - if they offer me this job, do I want it?

Somehow over the last bit of holiday break, I decided it would be a great idea to take it. My grip and fear of losing LA slowly drifted away. I will miss this place tremendously, and I will certainly have some gaps that SLC just can't possibly fill, but I feel good about this new chapter.

I got the note via IM on Monday morning that this team wants to hire me, without even meeting me in person. Crazy. My new boss called my current boss (who I had to quickly call and fill in, since she's been on maternity leave and I hadn't updated her yet!) to determine when I'll make the switch, and then he called me to officially extend the offer. It's even more money, and I couldn't say no.

I officially start the new job on January 27th, though I have some flexibility moving. I'll be in Utah for a couple weeks to start, then back to LA for a couple commitments in mid-February, then a week in Phoenix for Ragnar, then I'll pack up and move for good. I'll crash with my brother for a bit, put some stuff in storage (or maybe I'll leave it all here and start with everything new, I want a new couch!), and take a little time to find a great place to live.

My roommate is getting married in April and moving out soon, too, so this is truly the end of an era.

LA, I will miss you, and Utah, I'm a little scared, but change is good, right?!